Siemens steams ahead in 190 million Euro deal

Siemens Power Generation is to upgrade turbines in four power plants in the US and Sweden in a 190 million Euro deal.

The upgrades will take place at two separate stations owned by the Newark, NJ-utility PSEG, one owned by the TX-based utility TXU Energy, and one owned by the Swedish operator Forsmarks Kraftgrupp.

Under the terms of the four contracts, Siemens will supply ten low-pressure and three high-pressure turbines. The new steam turbines are intended to increase the efficiency and power output of the plants without additional fuel consumption.

Units 1 and 2 of PSEG’s Salem nuclear power plant in New Jersey, each rated at 1,150 MW, were built by Westinghouse and have been supplying power to the eastern seaboard of the US since 1977 and 1981 respectively.

By installing a new high-pressure turbine in each of the plant’s two units and three new low-pressure turbines in Unit 1, power output will increase by approximately 90MW. These turbines will be manufactured at the Siemens PG plant in MÃ¼lheim/Ruhr.

The upgrade of Unit 2 will take place in the fall of 2003, with Unit 1 to follow during the spring of 2004. The high-pressure turbines of Unit 2 will be optimised further in the spring of 2006.

Originally built by Westinghouse in 1968, the 600MW Hudson Unit 2 coal-fired power plant is one of the largest fossil-fuel electric generating units in New Jersey. During the fall of 2003, Siemens will install a new high-pressure turbine that will improve the unit’s performance and reliability for owner PSEG. The turbine will be manufactured at PG’s facility in Charlotte, North Carolina.

The order for four new low-pressure turbines for the Westinghouse-built TXU Energy Comanche Peak twin-unit nuclear plant, which is located near Dallas, TX is a continuation of the previous high-pressure turbine modernisation performed by Siemens in 1999. These measures will provide additional output of more than 70MW of incremental power at the 2,300MW power plant, which has been generating electricity since the early ’90s. The turbines will be manufactured in PG’s manufacturing plant in MÃ¼lheim/Ruhr and are planned for installation in 2004 and 2005.

Siemens PG’s contract with Swedish operator Forsmarks Kraftgrupp AB calls for upgrading three new low-pressure turbines in the ABB-built Forsmark 3 nuclear power plant located Northeast of Stockholm in Sweden. These components, also to be built at the PG plant in MÃ¼lheim/Ruhr, will increase the power output of the 1,200MW plant, which has been in operation since 1985, by approximately 30MW. The upgrade work will be performed in mid 2004.